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Provincial

Byelection to replace Rona Ambrose set for Oct. 23

Residents in areas west of Edmonton will head to the polls Oct. 23 for a byelection to replace longtime Sturgeon River-Parkland Conservative MP Rona Ambrose, Elections Canada said Sunday.

Ambrose announced her departure from federal politics in May.

The 48-year-old was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 to represent Edmonton-Spruce Grove, a riding that no longer exists.

She held it for four terms until it was re-drawn, winning each election by wide margins. In 2015, she won Sturgeon River-Parkland in similar fashion.

Ambrose held many cabinet positions in the Stephen Harper government. In 2006, she became the youngest female member of the federal cabinet after being named environment minister.

Ambrose left her Ottawa post to join the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think-tank.

Last month, the former interim federal Conservative leader was appointed to a new advisory council on the North American Free Trade Agreement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The byelection for residents of Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Onoway, Redwater, Sandy Beach, Bon Accord, Gibbons, Alexander, Morinville and Parkland County is one of two that day. The other is in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec.

Elections Canada offices in both electoral districts will open shortly.